Container of Wipes with a Stabilising TrackPack Device

ABSTRACT

Referring to FIG.  1.  The invention relates to a housing for a soft pack dispensing container for wipes B, the latter featuring hermetically sealed edges  10, 11  and a rigid flip top A which has a frame fixed to the dispensing container B, a frame which surrounds an aperture  7  through which wipes are extracted. The fixed frame features at least two slide rails  3, 4  enabling the dispensing container A to attach to the supports within a housing so long as at least one of the slide rails  3, 4  is of a specific geometric cross section profile that corresponds to the geometric cross section profile of its corresponding support.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a ‘Rigid Flip Top’ (RFT) for a softpack dispensing container for wipes which features a device to enablethe pack to remain in a stable position within a dispenser as wipes areextracted from it.

Wipes are often sold in dispensing containers that take the form of asoft pack with hermetically sealed side edges and a mouth in the middleof the top side of the pack from which to access the wipes. In order toprevent moisture loss from the pack, this mouth is generally sealed inone of two ways; either by way of a removable self adhesive strip or byway of an integral hard plastic lid assembly called a ‘Rigid Flip Top’(RFT). The latter consists of a hard plastic frame fixed to the upperside of the soft pack and features a lid or cap connected to it by ahinge mechanism. The frame defines the opening or mouth of the soft packthrough which the wipes will be dispensed and is permanently fixed tothe soft pack by adhesive the lid or cap can be closed after wipes havebeen dispensed in order to seal the pack.

Soft pack dispensing containers are becoming increasingly popularbecause these packs are less expensive to make than hard plastic tubs orcanisters, require less raw materials to make them and are perceived tobe far more environmentally friendly.

It is also well known to deploy wipes that are sold in hard plastic tubsin a lockable dispenser housing, such as described in PCT publicationnumber WO2007148125 (A2), wherein the housing allows an empty tub ofwipes within the housing to be replaced with a new tub of wipes. Due tothe rigid construction of a tub, tubs can be held in a fixed positionwithin the housing without compressing the wipes, thereby givingstability to the wipes as they are extracted from the housing.

There are however challenges associated to deploying hermetically sealedsoft pack containers within such housings. Due to their flexible nature,it is much more difficult to hold these soft pack containers in a fixedposition within the housing. The mechanism that fixes the packs withinthe housing must be able to accommodate the vertical pressures from theweight of the packs and resist any horizontal pressures resultant fromthe action of pulling wipes from the pack.

Additionally in certain circumstances, organisations or households willwant to be able to ensure that only a specific type of wipe is deployedinto a specific dispenser housing.

It may be desirable that a number of similar wipe dispenser housingsmight be located in various places around a building, e.g. in a kitchen,bathroom, bedroom, but that container of wipes in each housing should beadapted to perform a different task. For example wipes used in thekitchen may need to be impregnated with a liquid to cut through grease,wipes used in the bathroom may need to be impregnated with anantiseptic, and wipes used in the baby changing room may need to beimpregnated with a gentle cleansing liquid suitable for cleaning thesensitive skin of a baby. If however a container of kitchen wipes shoulderroneously be placed in a dispenser housing in the baby changing room,a person will end up using a kitchen wipe on the baby's skin which couldbe detrimental to the baby's health.

The invention seeks to provide a solution to these problems.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a soft packdispensing container for wipes and housing comprising:

-   -   a) a housing featuring at least two longitudinal supports having        a hollow or tubular channel over at least part of their length        and open from at least one end, so that when considered in cross        section, each support has a boundary wall that contains the        hollow or tubular channel, this boundary wall having a gap in        its perimeter, and    -   a soft pack dispensing container for wipes featuring a rigid        flip top, the rigid flip top featuring a frame fixed to the        dispensing container, the fixed frame surrounds an aperture        through which wipes are extracted from the dispensing container,        the fixed frame featuring at least two longitudinal extensions        which engage with the supports within the housing,    -   each of the extensions having a geometric cross section profile        such that the extension can be inserted through the open end of        the support and axially translated into the hollow or tubular        channel, and having a supporting stem which spaces the extension        from the fixed frame, the supporting stem being accommodated by        the gap in the perimeter of the boundary wall of the support,    -   at least one extension comprises a longitudinal bulbous or        T-shaped or widened or thickened shape upon a supporting stem        which is inclined from the vertical and horizontal which engages        with a corresponding hollow or tubular channel and a        longitudinal gap in the support that preferentially resists        displacement in response to any force which is non parallel to        the direction in which the extensions are inserted or removed        from the hollow or tubular channel,    -   wherein one extension and supporting stem has an engaging        geometric cross section profile that preferentially resists        displacement in response to force in a first direction, and        another extension and supporting stem has an engaging geometric        cross section profile that preferentially resists displacement        in response to force in a second direction, where the first and        second directions are non-parallel.

Preferably the container and housing features a component of the firstdirection is a force applied horizontally, such as from wipes beingextracted from the pack through the orifice of the housing.

Preferably the container and housing features a component of the firstdirection is a force applied in a downward direction such as caused bythe weight of the pack of wipes.

Preferably the container and housing features two extensions areprovided as a single integral structure.

Preferably the container and housing features a structure wherein thegeometric cross section profiles of each of the extensions and the stemsattaching them to the rigid flip top are different to each other.

Preferably the container and housing features two supports are providedas a single integral structure.

Preferably the wipe dispensing container and housing features acontainer which includes a sealing cap which includes a fin, while thehousing includes a notch, the fin and the notch being shaped to engagewith one another when the sealing cap is opened, the difference in thegeometric cross section profiles of each of the extensions and the stemsattaching them to the rigid flip top ensuring that the container iscorrectly oriented for the fin on the sealing cap to engage with thenotch on the housing.

Preferably the container and housing system features at least two softpack dispensing containers for wipes and housings wherein there are atleast two types of soft pack dispensing container each having rigid fliptops with sets of extensions that are different in geometric crosssection profile to each other and at least two different types ofhousing each having supports with different geometric cross sectionprofiles running through them such that, in use, the extensions of eachsoft pack container of wipes is only able to fully engage with supportswithin a housing when the geometric cross section profiles of theextensions and the stem attaching them to the rigid flip top aremutually compatible with the geometric cross section profiles of thesupport rails and the gaps in their perimeter.

Preferably the container and housing system is such that each type ofhousing is similar in size and shape with the exception of the shape ofthe geometric cross section profile of the support rails and the gaps intheir perimeter.

Preferably the container and housing system comprises at least two softpack dispensing containers for wipes and housings wherein there are atleast two types of soft pack dispensing container each having rigid fliptops with sets of extensions and sealing caps that are different ingeometric cross section profile to each other and at least two differenttypes of housing each having supports with hollow or tubular channelsand gaps of different geometric cross section profiles running throughthem such that, in use, the extensions of each soft pack container ofwipes is only able to fully engage with supports within a housing whenthe geometric cross section profiles of the extensions plus stem plussealing caps are mutually compatible with the geometric cross sectionprofiles of the support rails and the gaps in their perimeter.

Preferably the container and housing system is such that each type ofhousing is similar in size and shape with the exception of the geometriccross section profile of the support rails and the gaps in theirperimeter.

Preferably the container and housing system comprises at least two typesof soft pack dispensing container and at least two different types ofhousing, each housing having supports set at different widths apart suchthat, in use, the extensions of each soft pack container of wipes isonly able to fully engage with supports within a housing when the widthbetween the extensions and the width between the supports and extensionsare mutually compatible.

Preferably the container and housing system is such that each type ofhousing is similar in size and shape with the exception of the relativewidth between the pairs of supports, and the relative width betweenpairs of extensions.

Preferably the container and housing system is such that there are atleast two types of soft pack dispensing container and at least twodifferent types of housing, each housing having supports set atdifferent heights such that, in use, the extensions of each soft packcontainer of wipes is only able to fully engage with supports within ahousing when the relative heights between the supports within thehousing and the relative heights between the extensions are mutuallycompatible.

Preferably the container and housing system is such that each type ofhousing is similar in size and shape with the exception of the relativeheight between the pairs of supports, and the relative height betweenpairs of extensions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

According to the present invention there is provided a soft packdispensing container as provided by claim 1.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a soft pack dispensing container of wipesfeaturing an RFT with its sealing cap in an open position.

FIG. 2 shows the top view of a soft pack dispensing container of wipesfeaturing an RFT with its sealing cap in a closed position.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the housing revealing the supports,the aperture of the housing and the engagement means with which thesealing cap of the dispensing container cooperates.

FIG. 4 shows cross sectional views, 4 a) to 4 d), of four differentembodiments of RFTs and the corresponding support rails.

FIG. 5 shows show cross sectional views, 5 a) and 5 b) of two differentembodiments of RFTs and the corresponding support rails.

FIG. 6 shows show cross sectional views 6 a) and 6 b) of two differentembodiments of RFTs and the corresponding support rails.

FIG. 7 shows an RFT located next to the top section of a housing whichfeatures the support rails, the sealing cap of the RFT being in itsclosed position.

FIG. 8 shows an RFT located inside the top section of a housing whichfeatures the support rails, the sealing cap of the RFT being in itsclosed position.

FIG. 9 shows an RFT located inside the top section of a housing whichfeatures the support rails, the sealing cap of the RFT being in its openposition thereby exposing an aperture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a top view of an RFT A attached to ahermetically sealed soft pack dispensing container of wipes B. The softpack is generally cuboid, having two similar rectangular sides (only oneside 8 being here visible), two ends 10, 11, and an upper face 12, andlower face 13 (not here visible). The soft pack contains a stack ofwipes encapsulated by an outer covering of flexible, impermeablematerial, typically formed from a sleeve of material bonded at each ofthe ends 10, 11, so that the soft pack is hermetically sealed, apartfrom the opening through the RFT A.

The upper face 12 is rectangular, having two long edges 14, 15 and twoshort edges 16, 17 where it meets the sides (that is, side 8 and theopposite side not here visible) and ends 10, 11 respectively. The lowerface 13 has the same dimensions as the upper face. The height of thesoft pack (the distance between the upper face 12 and the lower face 13)is small relative to the two long edges 14, 15 and two short edges 16,17.

The soft pack has an RFT A bonded to the upper face 12. The RFT A willusually be rectangular, smaller and possibly in similar proportions tothe upper face 12, and centrally positioned, so that the long edges ofthe RFT A are parallel to the long edges 14, 15 of the upper face 12.

The RFT A has a central aperture (which conveniently could be circular),which is shown with the tail of a wipe 6 protruding through the aperture7. The aperture may be sealed using a sealing cap 1, here shown in itsopen position.

The RFT A features slide tracks 3 & 4. These extend along each side ofthe RFT A, parallel to the long edges 14, 15 of the upper face 12. Inuse, these slide tracks would engage with supports within a housing (notshown) so as to enable the container of wipes B to be maneuvered intothe correct position within the dispenser housing.

Referring to FIG. 2 there is shown a top view of an RFT A attached to ahermetically sealed soft pack dispensing container of wipes B, the cap 1of the RFT A in its closed position. The RFT A features slide tracks 3 &4 in the form of extensions to the RFT A. These slide tracks 3 & 4, hereshown running parallel with the hermetically sealed edges 10, 11 of thecontainer B could be formed during the process of manufacturing the RFTA or could be bonded or retrofitted to the RFT A. The slide tracks 3 & 4shown in FIG. 1 extend along the length of the RFT A, parallel to eachother and to the short sides 10, 11 of the container B. In this figure,the sealing cap 1 is shown in its closed position, thereby sealing theaperture 7 as shown in FIG. 1. The sealing cap 1 is attached to the RFTA by a stem hinge 5. The sealing cap 1 features a male lug engagementmeans 2 which, once the soft pack dispensing container of wipes has beenmaneuvered into position, connects with an engagement means 21 on theoutside of a housing C as shown in FIG. 3 in order to deter movement ofthe soft pack dispensing container of wipes during use.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a front-side view of the dispenserhousing C. The housing C comprises an upper panel 30, a base panel 31,and two side panels 32, 33. The housing C is generally cuboid, with anopenable flap or lid on at least one side, and sufficiently large toaccept the soft pack dispensing container B.

The upper panel 30 of the housing C has two long sides 35, 36 and twoshort sides 37, 38. On the inner surface of the upper panel 30, insidethe housing C, the housing C features two support rails 23, 24 whichextend from the long side 36 inside the housing C. The support rails 23,24 extend parallel to each other and to the short sides 37, 38 of theupper panel 30, located approximately in the mid-section of the upperpanel, and the support rails' width corresponds to the width of theslide tracks 3, 4 of the soft pack dispensing container (not shownhere). The slide tracks 3, 4 extend along part of the length of thepack, are typically smaller in length than support rails, the latterextending from side 36 to at least the position 5 on the RFT A. Thesupport rails 23, 24 are generally hollow in section, with gaps in theirperimeter 27, 28; details of the configuration will be described in moredetail below.

The Housing C also features an aperture 22 in the upper panel 30, andfemale engagement means 21 on the outside. Housing C also has a raisedsection 29 which allows the cap to pass beneath it as the container ofwipes is moved into position within the housing. The raised section issmall enough such that once the container of wipes is in position, theuser is able to open and close the cap without restriction but stilllarge enough to provide cover for the area of the container between theend of the slide tracks 3 & 4 and the long side 14.

Referring to FIG. 1-3, in use, the soft pack container B is placed inthe dispenser housing C by aligning the slide tracks 3, 4 with thesupport rails 23, 24 so that the ends of the slide tracks 3, 4 engagewith the hollow sections of the support rails, and pressing the softpack container B forward so that the slide tracks 3, 4 slide into thesupport rails 23, 24 and the soft pack container B is fully accommodatedwithin the housing C, and the aperture 7 of the RFT A is aligned withinthe aperture 22 of the upper panel 30, and the cap 1 of the RFT A isaccessible through the aperture 22 of the housing C. The user would thenbe able to release the sealing cap 1 from the aperture 7 of the RFT A,the hinge 5 which connects the sealing cap 1 to the RFT A allowing theuser to flex the sealing cap 1 back so as to enable the male lugcomponent 2 on the sealing cap to engage with the female engagementcomponent 21 which is on the outside of the housing C. By removablyfixing the sealing cap 1 to the female engagement means, the cap willthereby not impede access to the wipes as they are withdrawn from thedispensing container of A and also help prevent movement of the pack ofwipes within the housing C during use.

Referring to FIG. 4, the bulbous ends of slide tracks 3, 4 featured in 4a) each have a generally square section, and are spaced from RFT A bystems 43, 44. The stem 43 of slide track 3 is at an inclined 45 anglefrom the vertical, while the stem 44 of slide track 4 is vertical. Thegeometric cross section profiles of the slide tracks shown in 4 a)extend in a uniform manner throughout the length of both slide tracks.

The geometric cross section profiles of the support rails 23, 24correspond and conform to the geometric cross section profiles of slidetracks 3, 4, so that the slide tracks can be inserted into the supportrails. Each support rail 23, 24 has a hollow square section whichextends in a uniform manner throughout their length.

Support rail 23 has a gap 27 in its sectional perimeter, at the lowercorner, having inclined edges, corresponding to the inclined stem 43 ofthe slide track 3. Similarly, support rail 24 has a gap 28 in itssectional perimeter, in this case in the lower surface, whichcorresponds to the vertical stem 44 of the slide track 4. The separationbetween the support rails 23, 24 corresponds to the separation betweenthe slide tracks 3, 4.

The hollow cross section profile of the support rails and gaps shown in4 a) is such that in order for the pack of wipes to be compatible withhousing, the slide tracks and stems on the RFT must be of a particularcorresponding geometric cross section profile shown in 4 a). Aconvenient material for the manufacture of the RFT and slide tracks, andfor the support rails is some type of plastic or polymer.

The slide track 3 on the left hand side of the RFT is of a wide squareshape and the engagement of the stem 43 with the side position of narrowgap 27 prevents a horizontal force applied to the pack of wipes fromdislodging the pack of wipes from its position. The slide track 4 on theright hand side of the RFT is of a wide square shape and the engagementof the stem 44 with the vertical position of the narrow gap 27 preventsthe pack of wipes from becoming dislodged due its own weight.

Referring to FIG. 4, there are shown in 4 a) to 4 d) just four of themany different vertical geometric cross section profiles that arepossible as to RFT A as shown in FIGS. 1 & 2. The RFT A features slidetracks 3 & 4 of various geometric sectional profiles and sizes and asealing cap 1. Next to these iterations of the RFT A are thecorresponding compatible iterations of the receptacle section 26comprising the support rails 23, 24 of the dispenser housing C and thegaps 27, 28 in their sectional perimeter that are required in order forthe pack of wipes to be received by the dispenser housing. The hollowgeometric cross section profiles within 23 & 24 and the gaps 27, 28compliment the geometric cross section profiles of the slide tracks 3 &4 and their stems 43 & 44 respectively so as to enable the user toinsert the slide tracks 3 & 4 of the RFT into the supports 23 & 24. Thisthen enables the user to maneuver the soft pack dispensing container ofwipes B into the desired position, the slide tracks thereby slidingwithin the hollow shapes of the supports 23 & 24 until the correctposition for the container of wipes B has been reached.

The slide tracks 3 & 4 shown in 4 a) can only engage with supports 23 &24 because the geometric cross section profile of the slide tracks andtheir stems are compatible with the geometric cross sectional profile ofthe cavities and the gaps in the perimeter running through those supportrails, and not with any of the geometric cross section profiles of thesupports featured in 4 b), 4 c) or 4 d). A pack of wipes with an RFTfeaturing slide tracks similar to those featured in 4 a) could thereforeonly be received into a dispenser housing featuring supports and gapswith the respective geometric cross section profiles. A pack of wipeswith an RFT featuring slide tracks as shown in 4 c), for example, couldnot mistakenly be deployed into a dispenser featuring a receptacle andgap geometric cross section profile as shown in 4 d), and so on.

Therefore, housings may be adapted or labeled for a particular uses,each use being assigned a particular configuration of support rails, sothat the particular wipe suitable for that use is supplied with thespecific RFT and sliding tracks produced for that housing. Having RFT'swith different geometric cross section profiles that exclusivelycompliment the geometric cross section profiles of the support rails forspecific dispenser housings ensures that only the correct types of wipesare placed within appropriate dispenser housings.

Therefore a container of, say, kitchen wipes impregnated with a harshgrease cutting ingredient would simply not fit into a baby wipedispenser housing fixed next to a baby changing table, because thegeometric cross section profile of the RFT fitted onto a soft pack ofkitchen wipes would be incongruous to that of the support rails withinthe baby wipe dispenser housing. Such a deployment mistake as to thepack of kitchen wipes, which could have detrimental consequences becauseof the sensitive nature of a baby's skin, could therefore not be made.

A similar principle is presented in FIG. 5 in which there is shown twodifferent iterations 5 a) and 5 b) of vertical geometric cross sectionprofile views of RFT A and the respective vertical geometric crosssection profile views of the receptacle sections 26 both of which areshown in FIGS. 1 & 2. In both 5 a) & 5 b), the RFT A features a sealingcap 1 and slide tracks 3 & 4 of similar geometric cross sectionprofiles. However, the slide tracks featured in 5 a) are separated at adifferent horizontal spacing to the slide tracks featured in 5 b). Apack of wipes with an RFT featuring slide tracks that are spaced as per5 a) could therefore not be received into a dispenser housing withsupport rails spaced apart as per iteration 5 b), and vice versa. Byrestricting RFT's featuring slide tracks at particular widths apart tocertain specific types of packs of wipes, the manufacturer couldtherefore ensure that only those types of packs of wipes can be receivedinto their intended housings, thereby eliminating the sort of usermistakes mentioned earlier.

Another similar principle is presented in FIG. 6 in which there is showntwo different iterations 6 a) and 6 b) of front side views of RFT A andthe respective front side views of the receptacle sections 26. In bothiterations 6 a) and 6 b), the RFT A features a sealing cap 1 and slidetracks 3 & 4 of similar geometric cross section profiles. However, theslide tracks featured in 6 a) are at different heights as compared tothe slide tracks featured in 6 b). A pack of wipes with an RFT featuringslide tracks that are spaced as per iteration 6 a) could therefore notbe received into a dispenser housing with support rails spaced as periterations 6 b), and vice versa. By restricting RFT's featuring slidetracks at particular relative heights to certain specific types of packsof wipes, the manufacturer could therefore ensure that only thoseparticular types of packs of wipes can be received into their intendedhousings, thereby again eliminating the sort of user mistakes mentionedearlier.

Referring to FIG. 7, the soft pack container B (not here shown) will besubjected to forces relative to the dispenser housing C, due to usersextracting tissues and the weight of the container itself. In thedirection that the container is inserted and removed—hereafter, theinsertion axis—the movement of the container is constrained by the stopin one direction, and an openable flap or lid (not here shown) on theside of the housing C in the other direction.

The material of the slide tracks and support rails (typically plastic),its resilience, the precise geometric cross section profiles of theslide tracks and support rails and tolerances will determine howsecurely the slide tracks fit in the support rails. In particular, theseparameters are chosen so that the container of wipes B can withstand asufficient force applied in a direction perpendicular to the insertionaxis, so that the support rails do not cause the slide tracks to flexand deform and allow the slide tracks to snap out of the support rails.Specifically, the bulbous or thickened shape of the ends of the slidetracks catch against the corresponding shape of the support rails sothat a force acting in the direction of the stem does not pull the slidetrack from the support rail. Further, since ideally one slide track andsupport rail (and specifically the stem and gap) is oriented in adifferent manner to the other slide track and support rail, one of theslide track/support rail pairs will be able to resist a force applied ina direction perpendicular to the insertion axis.

Referring for example to FIG. 4, in each of these embodiments 4 c) and 4d), the stem and gap of one slide track/support rail pairing is suitedto resist a horizontal force, while the stem and gap of the other slidetrack/support rail pairing is suited to resist a vertical force. Ofcourse, an angled force acting perpendicularly to the insertion axiswill have a horizontal component and a vertical component, so thevertical component of this force will be resisted by one slidetrack/support rail and the horizontal component by the other slidetrack/support rail.

Referring to 4 a) and 4 b), the stem and gap of one slide track/supportrail pairing is at an angle to the horizontal, so this will resist anangled force while the other slide track/support rail pairing resists avertical force. A horizontal force will be resisted by the angled slidetrack/support rail pair, since the slide track/support rail pair isangled. Each slide track/support rail will resist some force in anydirection perpendicular to the insertion axis, though it will be seenthat it is advantageous if the stem and gap of one slide track/supportrail pair is angled with respect to the stem and gap of the other slidetrack/support rail pair.

Referring to FIG. 7, a soft pack container B (visible in FIG. 2)features an RFT A with a cap 1, which covers the aperture 7 (visible inFIG. 9) in the RFT A. The RFT includes two longitudinal slide tracks 3,4 disposed generally either side of the container, running in parallel.Each bulbous end of the slide track has a square cross section, and issupported by a longitudinal flange that in cross section appears like astem. The stem of the right slide track 4 joins the slide track 4vertically from underneath, meeting the lower edge of the square sectionat approximately mid-way. The stem of the left slide track 3 joins theslide track diagonally, included at approximately 45 degrees to thehorizontal, meeting the square section at the lower left corner.

A housing C (section of upper panel shown) includes two support rails23, 24, both of which comprise a hollow square channel to accommodatethe slide tracks 3, 4. The left support rail includes a longitudinal gapon its lower side to accommodate the stem of the slide track 3, whilethe right support rail 24 includes a longitudinal gap at bottom rightcorner of the channel to accommodate the stem of the right slide track4.

Referring to FIGS. 8 & 9, the container B, as shown in FIGS. 1 & 2, isslid into the housing C (upper panel shown) with the slide tracks 3, 4(not shown) engaging the support rails 23, 24 which are of correspondinggeometric cross section profiles. The domed lid 1 may now be opened. Thedomed lid includes a fin 2, while the housing C includes a femaleengagement means in the form of a notch 21, which are shaped so thatwhen the domed lid 1 is opened, it can be folded back until it abuts thehousing C, so that the fin 2 on the domed lid 1 engages with the notch21, so that the lid is conveniently held in the open position exposingthe container aperture 7 as shown in FIG. 9.

As previously described the difference in the geometric cross sectionprofiles of tracks 3 and 4 (and the support rail 23, 24) confers severaladvantages. When the container B is engaged in the housing C, the righttrack 4 engages more securely with the right support rail 24 whensubjected to downward forces acting on the container B than the lefttrack 3 and support rail 23. The left slide track 3 engages moresecurely with the left support rail 23 when subjected to diagonally andsideways acting forces than the right slide track 4 and support rail 24.The rails then are adapted to withstand forces in different,non-parallel (i.e. inclined) directions. Using rails of differentgeometrical profiles also ensures that only a container intended for usein a particular housing can be fitted.

A further advantage illustrated in this embodiment is that the containercan only be inserted one way round. This ensures that the container iscorrectly oriented for the fin on the domed lid to engage with the notchon the housing.

The embodiments herein described all show slide tracks having athickened or bulbous, or other shape carried by a relatively thin stem,and support rails having a generally hollow or tubular section with agap to accommodate the stem of the slide track.

The previously described embodiments could also be used in conjunctionwith other methods to aid or ensure that the correct container is placedin the correct housing, and in the correct orientation. For example, toindicate whether a container is compatible with a housing, the containerand housing could be provided in the same color. If a user goes to fitan incorrect container in the housing, the difference in color willclearly indicate that fitting should not be attempted. As well as color,or instead of color, the container and housing could share a pattern.Sections of the container and housing could also share patterns orcolors, possibly ones that line up or when the container is beinginserted into the housing, or when it is fully inserted, to visuallyconfirm it's correct compatibility. The supports of the container andhousing could also be color coded, for example one support rail and oneslide track could share a color, while the other support rail and slidetrack pair are uncolored, or have a different color.

The housing and/or container could also feature or share a legend,symbol or wording to indicate their particular function, for examplewording or symbols to indicate that the container (and also the housing)are compatible with Islamic Istinjah obligations.

The embodiments described herein all show hollow or tubular supportrails disposed in the housing into which the wipe containing dispensinginserted, with the RFT for the wipe container having slide tracks withsolid geometric cross section profiles which engage with the supportrails and slide inside them. It will be realized that the support railsmay have a solid section (with supporting stem), while the slidingtracks of the RFT may have a hollow or tubular section (with acorresponding gap for the stem). Equally, one support rail may have asolid section (with supporting stem), while the other support rail has ahollow or tubular section (with a corresponding gap for the stem), andthe RFT has a corresponding solid section sliding track and hollow ortubular section sliding track.

Also, the support rails and slide tracks herein have all beenillustrated using continuous examples (conveniently made by extrusion ofplastic material for example). It would also be possible though thateither or both slide tracks and/or support rails are sectional. Inparticular, if the slide track is continuous, the support rail may beformed from two or more clips, having sections as described and whichthe slide track is inserted into as previously, but which do not extendin a continuous longitudinal manner. Similar, the support rail may becontinuous, while the slide track comprises two of more discretesections.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the present invention.

1. A soft pack dispensing container for wipes and housing comprising ahousing featuring at least two longitudinal supports having a hollow ortubular channel over at least part of their length and open from atleast one end, so that when considered in cross section, each supporthas a boundary wall that contains the hollow or tubular channel, thisboundary wall having a gap in its perimeter, and a soft pack dispensingcontainer for wipes featuring a rigid flip top, the rigid flip topfeaturing a frame fixed to the dispensing container, the fixed framesurrounds an aperture through which wipes are extracted from thedispensing container, the fixed frame featuring at least twolongitudinal extensions which engage with the supports within thehousing, each of the extensions having a geometric cross section profilesuch that the extension can be inserted through the open end of thesupport and axially translated into the hollow or tubular channel, andhaving a supporting stem which spaces the extension from the fixedframe, the supporting stem being accommodated by the gap in theperimeter of the boundary wall of the support, at least one extensioncomprises a longitudinal bulbous or T-shaped or widened or thickenedshape upon a supporting stem which is inclined from the vertical andhorizontal which engages with a corresponding hollow or tubular channeland a longitudinal gap in the support that preferentially resistsdisplacement in response to any force which is non parallel to thedirection in which the extensions are inserted or removed from thehollow or tubular channel, wherein one extension and supporting stem hasan engaging geometric cross section profile that preferentially resistsdisplacement in response to force in a first direction, and anotherextension and supporting stem has an engaging geometric cross sectionprofile that preferentially resists displacement in response to force ina second direction, where the first and second directions arenon-parallel.
 2. A container and housing according to claim 1 wherein acomponent of the first direction is a force applied horizontally, suchas from wipes being extracted from the pack through the orifice of thehousing.
 3. A container and housing according to claim 1 wherein acomponent of the first direction is a force applied in a downwarddirection such as caused by the weight of the pack of wipes.
 4. Acontainer and housing according to claim 1 wherein two extensions areprovided as a single integral structure.
 5. A container and housingaccording to claim 1 wherein the geometric cross section profiles ofeach of the extensions and the stems attaching them to the rigid fliptop are different to each other.
 6. A container and housing according toclaim 1 wherein two supports are provided as a single integralstructure.
 7. A container and housing according to claim 1 wherein thegeometric cross section profiles of the extensions and the stem or stemsattaching them to the rigid flip top are such that they will engage withthe supports within the housing when inserted in one orientation, butwill not engage with the supports within the housing when inserted inthe opposite orientation.
 8. A container and housing according to claim1 wherein the geometric cross section profiles of the extensions, thestems attaching them to rigid flip top and the sealing caps attached tothe rigid flip top are such that they will engage with the supportswithin the housing when inserted in one orientation, but will not engagewith the supports within the housing when inserted in the oppositeorientation.
 9. A wipe dispensing container and housing according toclaim 1 wherein the container includes a sealing cap which includes afin, while the housing includes a notch, the fin and the notch beingshaped to engage with one another when the sealing cap is opened, thedifference in the geometric cross section profiles of each of theextensions and the stems attaching them to the rigid flip top ensuringthat the container is correctly oriented for the fin on the sealing capto engage with the notch on the housing.
 10. A container and housingsystem comprising at least two soft pack dispensing containers for wipesand housings according to claim 1 wherein there are at least two typesof soft pack dispensing container each having rigid flip tops with setsof extensions that are different in geometric cross section profile toeach other and at least two different types of housing each havingsupports with different geometric cross section profiles running throughthem such that, in use, the extensions of each soft pack container ofwipes is only able to fully engage with supports within a housing whenthe geometric cross section profiles of the extensions and the stemattaching them to the rigid flip top are mutually compatible with thegeometric cross section profiles of the support rails and the gaps intheir perimeter.
 11. A container and housing system according to claim10 wherein each type of housing is similar in size and shape with theexception of the shape of the geometric cross section profile of thesupport rails and the gaps in their perimeter.
 12. A container andhousing system comprising at least two soft pack dispensing containersfor wipes and housings according to claims 10 and 11 wherein there areat least two types of soft pack dispensing container each having rigidflip tops with sets of extensions and sealing caps that are different ingeometric cross section profile to each other and at least two differenttypes of housing each having supports with hollow or tubular channelsand gaps of different geometric cross section profiles running throughthem such that, in use, the extensions of each soft pack container ofwipes is only able to fully engage with supports within a housing whenthe geometric cross section profiles of the extensions plus stem plussealing caps are mutually compatible with the geometric cross sectionprofiles of the support rails and the gaps in their perimeter.
 13. Acontainer and housing system according to claim 12 wherein each type ofhousing is similar in size and shape with the exception of the geometriccross section profile of the support rails and the gaps in theirperimeter.
 14. A container and housing system according to any of claims10 to 13 wherein there are at least two types of soft pack dispensingcontainer and at least two different types of housing, each housinghaving supports set at different widths apart such that, in use, theextensions of each soft pack container of wipes is only able to fullyengage with supports within a housing when the width between theextensions and the width between the supports and extensions aremutually compatible.
 15. A container and housing system according toclaim 14 wherein each type of housing is similar in size and shape withthe exception of the relative width between the pairs of supports, andthe relative width between pairs of extensions.
 16. A container andhousing system according to any of claims 10 to 15 wherein there are atleast two types of soft pack dispensing container and at least twodifferent types of housing, each housing having supports set atdifferent heights such that, in use, the extensions of each soft packcontainer of wipes is only able to fully engage with supports within ahousing when the relative heights between the supports within thehousing and the relative heights between the extensions are mutuallycompatible.
 17. A container and housing system according to claim 16wherein each type of housing is similar in size and shape with theexception of the relative height between the pairs of supports, and therelative height between pairs of extensions.